LIL 420

Countering

The passage I chose was from Benjamin Ray’s article, “The Geography of Witchcraft Accusations in 1692 Salem Village”.  The author is critiquing a highly regarded book, Salem Possessed, where Boyer and Nissenbaum sought to prove that the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 was based on socioeconomic issues. 

“Though it may appear that the Salem Possessed map carries the burden of the argument about the socioeconomic and geographic foundation of the witchcraft accusations, the map does not supply all the evidence. A note to the map in Salem Possessed explains that for different reasons a total of thirteen accusers were omitted, thus indicating that the map is incomplete and does not represent all the accusers. The map is more properly understood as an illustration of the socioeconomic argument; it is not its proof. Indeed the authors introduce the map to the reader as a kind of geographic clue to the rest of the book’s findings. Nevertheless Boyer and Nissenbaum’s use of the map confuses these two purposes, clue and proof. On the one hand, the quantitative comparison of the numbers of As, Ws, and Ds that appear on the eastern and western sides of the map suggests that it presents objective evidence of a geographically divided village and that it reveals a straightforward numerical pattern. On the other hand, the explanatory note states that the map deliberately omits a number of well-known accusers, some because of their youth and others because of their support for some of the accused. These omissions indicate that the map involves an important interpretive component, in this case concerning the accusers’ ages and motivations. The note also implies that the map is complete except for the specified omissions, which is not the case. Thus the map’s relationship to the information contained in the court records is unclear: it is interpretive and incomplete yet seeming offered as objective and exhaustive.”

As you can see, Ray is employing the method of uncovering values, where he is reviewing concepts from the study that were inaccurate, omitted, or overlooked by other historians.  From my perspective, Ray’s tone is fiercely critical, as is most of the article.  Ray offers facts to disprove the book’s main theme, then builds his argument to offer that religious factionalism was the apparent factor of the witchcraft accusations.

As I was searching through my sources for this journal article, I happened upon an article by Fels: Switching Sides : How a Generation of Historians Lost Sympathy for the Victims of the Salem Witch Hunt.  Basically the writer is examining the top four Salem witch trial interpretations by multiple historians, and then analyzes their biases and theory omissions.  The article made me rethink some of my sources-will I counter them or use them for support?  I also realize that since the Salem witch trial topic revolves around multiple factors, it would be impossible to counter each argument due to time limitations.  I do plan to use countering in some of my work, specifically uncovering values, arguing against the other side, while most importantly, extending the conversation.

Sources:

Fels T., Switching Sides : How a Generation of Historians Lost Sympathy for the Victims of the Salem Witch Hunt. Johns Hopkins University Press; 2018.

Ray, Benjamin C., “The Geography of Witchcraft Accusations in 1692 Salem Village”, The William and Mary Quarterly , Jul., 2008, Third Series, Vol. 65, No. 3 (Jul., 2008), pp. 449-478. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25096807

Humanities in the News

I actually chose an opinion piece from the Portland Press Herald weeks ago to review for this class as an option for “Humanities in the News”. I saw that the article was recent and local, so I immediately downloaded it. I hadn’t read much of the article at all, but it was recently posted on August 30th, 2024 and is titled, “Opinion: No, the humanities are not dying out”, by Josh Pahigian.

Opinion: No, the humanities are not dying out

What I didn’t realize at the time of downloading the article was that Josh Pahigian is the director of UNE’s Center for Global Humanities, so he was writing in defense of the humanities from a university perspective.

Pahigian believes that there is a humanities crisis, as more students are seeking STEM degrees for a quick return on investment, but he does not think that the humanities are dying. He talked about how his masters in creative writing actually prepared him for multiple professional positions throughout his career. Pahigian calls for a “humanities rebrand”, in which the humanities lens is applied to solving the big problems of society: climate change, how to respond to AI, mental health, etc. I believe he is on the right track; universities should try this tactic to integrate the humanities throughout traditional STEM courses.

As I performed another search this week for a new article, I recognized that most of the current humanities article topics were written by college newspapers, discussing the importance of the humanities, especially in the context of the rising influence of AI. There were a few stories that covered some colleges in Europe slashing their humanities programs. Other prominent newspapers covered the humanities by President Biden’s recent appearance at the National Arts and Humanities Reception on October 21st. It seems like the coverage of this event did bring some attention to the humanities, which was a plus.

I also ran across a reference in a current article that linked to a great 2019 New York Times piece called, “In the Salary Race, Engineers Sprint but English Majors Endure”. Basically it discussed how STEM high tech skills are in great demand, but as technology improves, those skills become obsolete, whereas humanities majors use their knowledge to achieve management and law careers, which at the time were the highest paying jobs in the US. This picture seems to be consistent with what we are seeing today and may be enough to keep the humanities thriving. However, it would be interesting to see the article updated with current statistics.

Journal 5-

In addition to the given guidelines, I kept Joseph Harris’ concepts of forwarding and revising in mind.

Can a Just God Allow Suffering?

Strengths-

• The student will be using other texts from philosophers and writers to illustrate his argument.  The student will be listening to the “conversation in the room”.
• I also can appreciate the student’s clear outline of how they will work with their advisor.  This will help the student set the pace and schedule of the project.
• The detailed description of how the student will use their resources will help them maintain their focus.
• The student discusses how they will contrast a historical vs. philosophical approach to their work. 

Opportunities-

• The topic-I feel that the student’s capstone question is general and that the topic is an old one.  I would ask the student to brainstorm a more unique angle/thought process.
• The student does not describe in detail how they will extend, revise, and counter the conversation into a unique direction.
• Although the student might not know this yet, they do not define the implications of the project.  Why does it matter that they are now joining this old-age conversation/debate?  What exactly are they contributing?
• At first I thought that the student’s bibliography was less than robust, but then I realized that the annotated bibliography requirement was for the English proposal guidelines.  However, I do think that an annotated bibliography is more helpful to the student and the professor.

Analyzing the Use of Animals in Popular Victorian Literature

Strengths-

• The student clearly states what their project is, how they are going to approach it, and how they are making this project their own.
• The student will make use of illustrating, authorizing, and then work to extend her project into an argument that has not been widely discussed.
• The theme/questions of the project are interesting, thoughtful and involve numerous literary sources for comparison.
• Annotated Bibliography-Sources are well described so that student can keep track and Professor can understand how the student is utilizing them to make their argument.
• The student does anticipate critiques and has already offered a counter argument.

Opportunities-

• Although the topic is exciting, I’m not sure if the student stated how understanding the human-animal-Victorian relationship is relevant for readers today.  Why does it matter?

Sample 3-

Strengths-

• This proposal is brief and to the point (for the most part, sections A-E are answered). 

Opportunities-

• The bibliography is missing (section F)
• The primary sources are not listed specifically (section G), so it is difficult for the advising or Capstone Professor to understand how the student is going to develop their project.
• Section C: The student states, “I want to address what qualities are used to classify or recognize others as human.”  Why is this important?  What is the exact argument that the student wants to extend upon?
• The student should expand upon section D-what range of literature will they be using?  What points will the student be bringing to the conversation?

By looking at these thesis proposal samples, I realized that:

• I need to come up with an interesting, unique question/conversation based on my topic.
• I must state my intention on how I will extend, revise, and counter the conversation.
• I want to state why my project is important-how is it relevant to an audience today?
• I need to clearly state what the next step forward would be-what’s next?
• I think an annotated bibliography would be useful to include.

Capstone Proposal Feedback

Journal 5-

In addition to the given guidelines, I kept Joseph Harris’ concepts of forwarding and revising in mind.

Can a Just God Allow Suffering?

Strengths-

• The student will be using other texts from philosophers and writers to illustrate his argument.  The student will be listening to the “conversation in the room”.
• I also can appreciate the student’s clear outline of how they will work with their advisor.  This will help the student set the pace and schedule of the project.
• The detailed description of how the student will use their resources will help them maintain their focus.
• The student discusses how they will contrast a historical vs. philosophical approach to their work. 

Opportunities-

• The topic-I feel that the student’s capstone question is general and that the topic is an old one.  I would ask the student to brainstorm a more unique angle/thought process.
• The student does not describe in detail how they will extend, revise, and counter the conversation into a unique direction.
• Although the student might not know this yet, they do not define the implications of the project.  Why does it matter that they are now joining this old-age conversation/debate?  What exactly are they contributing?
• At first I thought that the student’s bibliography was less than robust, but then I realized that the annotated bibliography requirement was for the English proposal guidelines.  However, I do think that an annotated bibliography is more helpful to the student and the professor.

Analyzing the Use of Animals in Popular Victorian Literature

Strengths-

• The student clearly states what their project is, how they are going to approach it, and how they are making this project their own.
• The student will make use of illustrating, authorizing, and then work to extend her project into an argument that has not been widely discussed.
• The theme/questions of the project are interesting, thoughtful and involve numerous literary sources for comparison.
• Annotated Bibliography-Sources are well described so that student can keep track and Professor can understand how the student is utilizing them to make their argument.
• The student does anticipate critiques and has already offered a counter argument.

Opportunities-

• Although the topic is exciting, I’m not sure if the student stated how understanding the human-animal-Victorian relationship is relevant for readers today.  Why does it matter?

Sample 3-

Strengths-

• This proposal is brief and to the point (for the most part, sections A-E are answered). 

Opportunities-

• The bibliography is missing (section F)
• The primary sources are not listed specifically (section G), so it is difficult for the advising or Capstone Professor to understand how the student is going to develop their project.
• Section C: The student states, “I want to address what qualities are used to classify or recognize others as human.”  Why is this important?  What is the exact argument that the student wants to extend upon?
• The student should expand upon section D-what range of literature will they be using?  What points will the student be bringing to the conversation?

By looking at these thesis proposal samples, I realized that for my own project:

• I need to come up with an interesting, unique question/conversation based on my topic.
• I must state my intention on how I will extend, revise, and counter the conversation.
• I want to state why my project is important-how is it relevant to an audience today?
• I need to clearly state what the next step forward would be-what’s next?
• I think an annotated bibliography would be useful to include.

The Rainbow Connection- Elmer and Seelye’s “Mourning Picture” Works

Although I had viewed “Mourning Picture” before on the LIL site, I had never looked at it very carefully. To me, it just looked like a little girl playing while her stern parents were watching on. After taking some time to view the work, I was immediately drawn to the vivid rainbow dress that Elmer’s daughter, Effie, is wearing. The colors of the dress are striking, with stripes similar to a rainbow and are in stark contrast to her parents’ mourning attire. Effie’s hat is black, but with a red ribbon, which wouldn’t have been appropriate for mourning during the Victorian era (1836-1901). These factors, as well as Effie’s placement in the picture make her stand out. I considered the rainbow’s symbolism: in biblical terms, the rainbow was a physical image of God’s promise not to flood the Earth again. When thinking about this in Elmer’s picture, Effie’s figure is garbed in a significant representation of heavenly grace and hope. Therefore, I interpret this as Effie is the otherworldly object of “Mourning Picture”, which was evident after reviewing the history of the work.

When reading Seelye’s poem, “Mourning Picture”, the poet brings forth the concept of literary and historical female figures that died young during the Victorian era. This checks out-the child mortality rate during the late 1800s to early 1900s was high despite social status. Yet, when reading this poem, I was confused as to why Seelye focuses so much on Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I looked up the publication date of The Wizard of Oz, and found that the year was 1900, still technically within the Victorian era, so Dorothy would fit in with those other young female figures. However, as readers of the book might recall, Dorothy does not actually die in the story. Despite that fact, Seelye’s re-imagining of the tale where Dorothy dies in the tornado, enters a colorful world that could be heaven, and returns to gray Kansas as a ghost is compelling, although most likely not Baum’s thematic intention.

Yet, upon reading both the poem and viewing the painting, additional meaning emerges. Although a rainbow was never present in The Wizard of Oz book, the most famous song from the movie is “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. Seelye makes that connection and writes, “New England graveyards are pastures full of little stone lambs and tiny tombstones like the low doorways at the bottom of gardens, fairy-tale entrances into eternity, that emerald wonderworld somewhere over some rainbow.” Seelye draws parallels from Dorothy’s experiences to Effie’s, filling in the unspoken details and adding depth to the intentions of the portrait.

Questions to ask:

How is Seelye’s comparison of Effie and Dorothy valid? 

Why do you think that Elmer chose Effie to be garbed in a rainbow dress in the portrait?

Reference:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK220806

On September 23rd, I met with Professor Elizabeth DeWolfe to discuss my capstone project.

I stated that I wanted to focus on a topic within my initial historical academic paper, “Warfare’s Influence on the Salem Witch Trials of 1692”. My focus would be upon the three girls from Casco Bay, Maine, that influenced the trials. I recognized that I didn’t want to write a paper, but that I sought to work with visuals.

We talked about creating a small museum exhibit, but then landed on creating an academic poster instead. A couple weeks after meeting with Professor DeWolfe, I am also considering working on a visual collage, but it will depend on the images I’m able to access.

In terms of resources, she provided me with some book sources. We discussed the Portland and Scarborough Historical societies and archives as options as well.

This week I did some digging based on our conversation, and I found some excellent online sources, such as the Digital Commons at the University of Maine and the Maine Memory Network. In addition, I found other sources related to the topic within the UNE Library.

I have also looked up examples of academic posters that are specifically designed for historical topics. Usually academic posters are based around scientific research.

I plan on sending Professor DeWolfe items, such as my abstract and drafts, as I progress with the project. We will then schedule a few sessions to meet over the next two months to review them.

Update: Meeting with Professor DeWolfe on 10/28/24

I met with Professor DeWolfe to discuss my angle of the argument I want to present for my poster. We talked about why the project matters (i.e., how it relates to issues today), and how I can express that within the poster.

I sent her a rough draft (mostly visual) of my poster. I needed to create a visual to provide a framework for my content.

I will be sending her a completed version by mid November to review.

We also discussed how I would incorporate my historical training for future work opportunities. I asked her for suggestions on where I could volunteer for my upcoming Citizenship class that would also serve as a type of historical internship.

Update: Sent Professor DeWolfe Initial Imagery of Poster on November 8th

This dealt with color, imagery, titles, not much historical content. Did not receive any feedback-I encountered registration issues and that dominated the discussion.

Update: Sent Professor DeWolfe another draft of the academic poster.

This had Intro and Conclusion type content, imagery, tweaking of titles. Adding information about the Maine connection/land acquisitions.  Thinking about the Salem historian debunked theories and the female scapegoat aspect, as well as a note that I am creating a references section, and ensuring that I am crediting all of my images.

Looking Over Past Humanities Courses and Projects

Over the past six years as a UNE student, I have encountered numerous influential texts and media, and based off those, have had the opportunity to critique and expand upon them in various formats. As I look back, I recognize that the variety of projects has enriched me as a student. As a result, I have struggled to choose only a few. I find that my best loved projects are from my history classes or classes related to my Gender, Women, and Sexuality major.

From my “Women of the West” ENG 237 class, I fondly look back upon Willa Cather’s book, O Pioneers!. I had never read the book before and I instantly connected to Cather’s writing style and insights on gender. In response, I wrote an essay titled, “O Pioneers!- Gender and the New Woman Character”, where I discuss how Cather uses the character Alexandra Bergson to critique twentieth century views on feminism. As I review the paper, I wonder if there is room to expand upon my argument. I remember exhausting areas of the text, but I could look at other authors of the period and see how they present the “New Woman” character in literature.

I also took a Native New England class in 2021, where students were tasked with a historical research project. This was a semester long project, which I titled “Native American New England Female Sachems-Circumvented Authority”, in which I strove to argue that colonial documents downplayed Native New England American female sachems’ positions of leadership in order to seize Native lands. As I reviewed this paper recently, I remembered getting a good grade, but then wishing that I had more time to delve into the topic or could have found more historical resources to make my case. I still have questions on where I could expand with this idea. In my initial topic statement for the project, I had written, “I plan on writing a historical research paper based off the topic, but was also thinking about the possibility of creating a visual presentation or a podcast,”. This definitely seems like it could be a contender for my LIL project.

Another fascinating historical research paper I wrote was for a HIS 395 class, What Happened? Witch Hunts, Women, and Witches. In my paper entitled, “Warfare’s Influence on the Salem Witch Trials of 1692”, I made the argument that the French and Indian War fueled the conditions that led up to the Salem witch trials. Pieces of this theory included young women from Maine (which at the time was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony), which was of great interest to me. After reviewing this paper today, I noticed that I should have developed a more robust conclusion to drive my points. I would love to make this historical story come to life in another medium somehow. My advisor, Professor DeWolfe, taught this class. I was thinking that it would be wonderful to have her mentor me with the project if she had time. Perhaps she could also suggest local resources for the topic.

**Update**

I’ve chosen to focus on the young women from Maine from my “Warfare’s Influence on the Salem Witch Trials of 1692”. Rather than write another academic paper, my goal is to create an academic poster that will include visuals and information about how young women lived during that time, including specifics for the three that played a part in the witch trials. To develop my project, I’m going to tackle these questions (which ultimately will evolve over the project):

What’s My Project? What do I want to accomplish?-I am seeking to define what girlhood might have been like during the late 17th century in New England and at the same time, expand upon the Casco Bay girls’ influence on the Salem Witch Trials.

What Works? How can you build on the strengths of your draft?-I will use my original paper as a guide for the poster. I will also incorporate some of the same resources.

What Else Might Be Said? How might you acknowledge other views and possibilities?-Several historical authors have written on the topic. I will examine their views and see if I can incorporate them in my poster.

What’s Next? What are the implications of what you have to say? I would like to shed light on how Puritan customs/restrictions on young women led to the trials.

Part 1-Significance of the Humanities

This summer I took a psychology course; tasking students to take personality tests and interpret them are standard issue assignments.  I found that I am an INTJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Judging).  After doing some research on the personality type, I found that typical INTJ career choices are in engineering, IT, and perhaps law.  Although I do take these tests with a grain of salt, I remember thinking, “Well, why exactly am I a history major?  Why am I taking mostly humanities courses, versus the sciences?” 

My current job is firmly ingrained in IT, and requires analysis and logical reasoning.  After some reflection, perhaps the reason I gravitate towards the humanities is that it is the “non-science” (yes, I’m using that term!) aspect of my life.  The humanities offer an appealing “other” side of the coin.  Historical and literary storytelling, expression of the arts, learning the nuances of languages, all firmly commit to, as Small puts it, the “valuation of feeling over reason” (Small, 12).  As human beings, one of our natural instincts is to emote, express ourselves, and in turn, interpret other’s expressions.  You might say that I have gone down the argumentative path of “well-roundedness”, and you are probably correct. 

Another important factor is that the disciplines of the humanities intersect, often complimenting each other, providing a more complete picture of the human experience.  I believe that my work with the humanities has allowed me flexibility in the workplace to identify connections, patterns, and opportunity when looking a large project or organizational entity as a whole.  

Small presents arguments supporting the humanities for their economic value, utilizing the humanities as a method to understand how human happiness works, and as what seems as a “hail Mary”, as a claim to preserve and promote democracy.  These points seem reasonable, but upon scrutiny, seem to break apart.  I felt more in tune with Mill’s argument, where the humanities, “…help to preserve the cultural inheritance for following generations in ways that are not mere custodial but assist in ongoing human intellectual an cultural achievements,” (Small, 13).  As a history major, the custodial aspect appeals to me, but the application of the humanities for future progress is truly how I envision the broader social value should be explained.

Part 2- Write a brief description of the kind of work you enjoy doing and/or think you’re well equipped to do.

It appears that I dabbled in this topic in Part 1!  One of the reasons that the discipline of history appeals to me is the active research that is involved.  Researching in archives, organizing evidence, and then reconstructing a snapshot in time for others to learn about makes me energized and content.  The War Letters class with Professor DeWolfe helped me put these elements together in a collaborative group setting.  I am detailed oriented, enjoy putting presentations together with visuals, and even enjoy creating podcasts. Over the years I have put together many presentations that appealed to others (or have gotten a decent grade).  I also find satisfaction in writing an old-fashioned academic paper, but visuals and how I present something are very important to my work.  I am not the best at public speaking, but as long as I have had time to process the topic, I can manage very well.  My best projects are ones that I am passionate about.

What are the Humanities?

If I were to describe the humanities to someone that was not familiar with the topic, I would state that the humanities encompass many disciplines that study the human experience, such as art, literature, history, music, and philosophy.  These disciplines focus on how humans interact and relate to the environment around them.   Since all humans are unique due to genetics, environment, culture, and socioeconomic status, the works and expressions of the humanities are unable to be hypothesized, theorized, tested or reproduced through a series of laws, such as the mathematics and science fields.  As During states, the works of the humanities are unique interpretations, not truths, because what one experiences may be their truth, but not to another person (During, 2020). 

When speaking about the humanities, I would also note how our society currently perceives them in the “real” or “working” world. With the rise of technology, it seems that interest in studying the humanities has reduced over time.  As our society struggles with a lack of healthcare workers, electricians, cybersecurity analysts, etc., students may easily disregard the humanities for more lucrative fields of study. During addresses the humanities “crisis” within universities as they strive to come to terms with what the humanities should be in comparison to other interdisciplinary programs. Inadvertently, the humanities are becoming “flattened” or merged, through this process.   However, During recognizes that outside the universities, the humanities are thriving (During, 2020).  I would have liked him to expand on this and provide more examples, but I can identify that by definition, people need the humanities to enrich their life and to connect to the world around them.

As I was searching for humanities topics in the news, I found that some writers argue that the humanities will become more popular as technology improves and artificial intelligence takes over more analytical jobs.  The fact is that artificial intelligence will never truly be able to express the human experience on its own, so the humanities would solely become a human’s occupation.  During’s statement that the humanities are an “inherited archive” resonated deeply with me (perhaps as a history major?), as “a place where objects may disappear and reappear, and of an inheritance as a body of work that is intentionally delivered into the future and received from the past, but without necessarily constituting a tradition” (During, 2020).  The humanities archive is built upon past interpretations, its inventory able to be critiqued and appreciated, and impressing upon future generations experience of the world.

Part 2- Framing During’s Project Using Harris’ Terms

My understanding of During’s project is that he attempts to neutrally analyze what the humanities are, seek how to identify their unique characteristics, and to understand the complexities of the term and topic.  During states that instead of a basic humanities concept, there is a humanities world, which is “both open-ended and limited. It is open in that from the inside the humanities world one doesn’t see clear boundaries. But it is limited because, we, as if intuitively, know that the humanities are distinct from other worlds-from the worlds of science, sport, business, and so on…” (During, 2020). He argues that the humanities cannot be defined by certain objects, characteristics or purposes: the only way to identify what the humanities are is to tell their story.